Seroprevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of Toxoplasma gondii infection in patients with psychiatric disorders in Malaysia.

Toxoplasma gondii is a neurotropic protozoan parasite that affects neuronal processing in the brain. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of T. gondii infection in psychiatric disorder patients. We also investigated the potential association between sociodemographic, clinical manifestation, and behavior of Toxoplasma-seropositive patients with psychiatric disorders. Commercial ELISAs (IgG, IgM, and IgG avidity) using serum and PCR using buffy coat were performed on samples from 54 individuals in each of the following groups: patients diagnosed with depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, as well as psychiatrically healthy subjects (control group). They were recruited from the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kelantan, Malaysia. Of 54 patients with depressive disorder, 24/54 (44.4 %) were seropositive for IgG, and four (16.7 %) were IgG+/IgM+. Among the latter, a high avidity index indicating a past infection was observed in half of the samples (50.0 %), and the other half (50.0 %) showed a low avidity index, indicating a possible recent infection. Meanwhile, 30/54 (55.6 %) patients with bipolar disorder were seropositive for IgG+, five (16.7 %) were IgG+/IgM+, and four of them had a high avidity index, and one had a low avidity index. Patients with schizophrenia showed 29/54 (53.7 %) seropositive for IgG, two of them (6.9 %) were IgG+/IgM+; one of latter had a high avidity index, and one had a low avidity index. Of 54 people in the control group, 37.0 % (20/54) were seropositive for T. gondii IgG antibodies. However, no significant difference was observed in seroprevalence between the control group and each patient group. No PCR-positive results were documented. A Chi-Square and multiple logistic regression showed that age (p = 0.031), close contact with cats/pets (p = 0.033) and contact with soil (p = 0.012) were significantly associated with Toxoplasma seropositivity in patients with psychiatric disorders. Additional research is needed to elucidate the causal relationships and underlying mechanisms.

Validation of the inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits among school-going adolescents in Malaysia.

A key component in the study of antisocial behaviour among adolescents is the presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Among the established tools available to measure CU traits is the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional traits (ICU). To date, there is no validated questionnaire to assess CU traits for the local population. Therefore, there is a need to validate the Malay version of the ICU (M-ICU) so that research can be conducted to explore CU traits among adolescents in Malaysia. The aim of the study is to validate the M-ICU. Two phases of cross-sectional study involving 409 (phase 1 -exploratory factor analysis (EFA), n = 180; phase 2-confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), n = 229) adolescents aged between 13 to 18 years old were conducted from July until October 2020 at six secondary schools in Kuantan district. Participants were selected via multistage random sampling. The ICU was initially translated into Malay language using forward-backward translation procedure by a group of bilingual researchers. Study participants completed the final version of the M-ICU questionnaire and socio-demographic questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS version 26 and MPlus software for factor structure validity by performing EFA and CFA. Initial EFA revealed three factors with two items deleted. A further EFA with two factors resulted in the deletion of unemotional factor items. Cronbach's alpha for overall scale improved from 0.70 to 0.74. CFA supported a two-factor solution with 17 items compared to the original English version that has three factors with 24 items. The findings revealed acceptable fit indices (RMSEA = 0.057, CFI = 0.941, TLI = 0.932, WRMR = 0.968). The study revealed that a two-factor model with 17 items of the M-ICU has good psychometric properties. The scale is valid and reliable to measure CU traits among adolescents in Malaysia.

Predictors of Mental Health Literacy among Parents, Guardians, and Teachers of Adolescents in West Malaysia.

Parents, guardians, and teachers are the informal sources of mental health support that adolescents rely on. Nevertheless, limited mental health knowledge limits their ability and confidence in providing appropriate assistance. This study aims to (1) evaluate the relationship between the roles of parents/guardians and teachers and their responses to discover the common misconceptions on mental health among those providing informal support to adolescents and (2) determine which demographic factors would act as the strongest predictor influencing their mental health literacy (MHL) status. The cross-sectional study recruited 867 parents, guardians, and teachers of adolescents from 24 government secondary schools' parent-teacher associations via multistage stratified random sampling. Parents, guardians, and teachers' MHL were evaluated using the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule-Malay Version (MAKS-M). The collected data were analyzed using Pearson's Chi-squared test to investigate the association between the respondents' roles and responses. Multiple Regression analysis was used to determine the predictors of MHL. The score of MAKS-M for the current study sample is 73.03% (M = 43.82, SD = 4.07). Most respondents responded incorrectly on Items 1 (employment), 6 (help-seeking), 8 (stress), and 12 (grief). Teachers provided more favorable responses on several items than parents and guardians. Finally, younger age, higher income, knowing someone with mental disorders, and having experience of attending formal training on mental health first aid were the significant predictors of MHL. MHL interventions in Malaysia should cater to older adults of lower socioeconomic status and lesser experience in mental health, specifically highlighting the stigmas on mental health help-seeking behaviors, treatment, and employment concerns, plus the recognition of various mental health diagnoses.

Quality of Life and Its Association with Effort-Reward Imbalance among Medical Officers Working in Government Hospitals in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.

Background: Medical officers (MOs) face multiple sources of work-related stress, including work system transition, job insecurity, dissatisfaction with income and intense working environments. This study aimed to examine the quality of life (QOL), effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and their association among MOs working in government hospitals in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among MOs from Sarawak General Hospital and Hospital Sentosa from May 2018 to March 2020. A total of 614 participants were selected through convenient sampling. An email with a link to three sets of questionnaires via Google forms including a questionnaire on sociodemographic data and job characteristics, the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF) (Malay version) and the effort-reward imbalance (ERI-Q) (long version) was sent to potential participants. A total of 276 MOs completed and returned the questionnaires. Data were analysed using descriptive, simple and multiple logistic regression analysis. A P-value of less than 0.05 was taken as a statistically significant result. Results: Most MOs reported no adversity in the workplace (i.e. 29% low effort/high reward, 5.1% high effort/high reward, 6.2% low effort/low reward and 23.6% high effort/low reward). More than half of MOs (54%) reported poor general QOL and were associated with a combination of active and passive on-calls (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 5.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21, 23.79). Poor QOL in the physical domain was associated with the presence of chronic illness (AOR = 23.35; 95% CI: 4.25, 128.45), active on-calls (AOR = 14.75; 95% CI: 1.16, 188.35) and a combination of active and passive on-calls (AOR = 18.25; 95% CI: 1.39, 238.98). Men had a higher risk of poor QOL in the environmental domain (AOR = 2.03; 95% CI: 1.04, 3.98). Only 23.6% of MOs reported psychosocial adversity at work (high effort/low reward). High effort/low reward was associated with poor QOL in general (AOR = 4.71; 95% CI: 1.71, 13.01), physical (AOR = 4.53; 95% CI: 2.02, 10.17), psychological (AOR = 5.95; 95% CI: 2.82, 12.58) and environmental domains (AOR = 4.21; 95% CI: 1.95, 9.08). Low effort/high reward was found to have a lower likelihood of poor QOL in the social domain (AOR = 0.13; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.44). Conclusion: Higher ERI was found to be associated with poor QOL among MOs in government hospitals. Future research should focus on interventions to improve working conditions.

The Malay Literacy of Suicide Scale: A Rasch Model Validation and Its Correlation with Mental Health Literacy among Malaysian Parents, Caregivers and Teachers.

The 27-item Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS) is a test designed to measure the respondent's suicide knowledge. The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Malay-translated version of the LOSS (M-LOSS) and its association to sociodemographic factors and mental health literacy. The 27-item LOSS was forward-backward translated into Malay, and the content and face validities were assessed. The version was distributed to 750 respondents across West Malaysia. Rasch model analysis was then conducted to assess the scale's psychometric properties. The validated M-LOSS and the Malay version of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS-M) were then distributed to 867 respondents to evaluate their level of suicide literacy, mental health literacy, and their correlation. Upon Rasch analysis, 26 items were retained. The scale was found to be unidimensional, with generally satisfying separation and reliability indexes. Sex, socio-economic status, and experience in mental health were found to significantly impact the mean score for mental health literacy. This study also found a significant mean difference for suicide literacy across school types. Furthermore, while this study observed a weak but significant negative correlation between age and suicide literacy, no correlation was found between mental health and suicide literacy.

Association between infection with Toxoplasma gondii and psychiatric disorders.

Toxoplasmosis is one of the world's most prevalent zoonoses. The causative agent, Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) is a facultative heteroxenic, polyxenic apicomplexan protist. There are several potential pathways of transmission within and between host species. Most infections with T. gondii result from close contact with pets/cats, ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat of infected animals, and oocysts from food or water contaminated by feline faeces. Recently, epidemiological studies have shown that T. gondii infection plays a prominent role in the pathogenesis of several psychiatric disorders. This report reviews the association between T. gondii infection and patients with psychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia, depressive disorders and bipolar disorders.

Parents' Experiences of Affiliate Stigma when Caring for a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies.

PROBLEM: Stigma affects not only children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) themselves, but also people connected with them (i.e., parents, siblings). The capacity of parents to provide care is affected by the stigma they perceive. This meta-synthesis encompasses the experiences of affiliate stigma among parents of children with ASD. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Articles were limited to the English language, those reported on stigma experienced by parents of children with ASD aged 2-18 years, published between 1940 and 2019. SAMPLE: PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Scopus and The Cochrane Library databases were searched for eligible studies. Titles and abstracts were reviewed, and twelve articles fitted the selection criteria. The texts of the selected research papers were reviewed by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: Four common themes across parental experiences included felt stigma, enacted stigma, variations in stigma, and contributors to stigmatizing experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Highlighting the differences in parents' views on affiliate stigma is necessary to create awareness about ASD and the stigma linked with this disorder. IMPLICATIONS: The findings asserted that healthcare professionals, especially those in pediatric settings, and society need to have a greater awareness of the stigma and challenges that these parents encounter as this has implications on their mental and physical health. This awareness will lead to more compassionate health care delivery which will support them and create a better environment for families and children with ASD.